


Young Blood

by Emerald_Ashes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Deaged Fic, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post Season 2, Pre Season 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-01-04 16:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12173016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Ashes/pseuds/Emerald_Ashes
Summary: Shiro is still missing. A mission in hopes to rescue him go terribly wrong and the team is led into a trap. While they manage to escape, not everyone makes it out unscathed.





	1. Chapter 1

Lance knew there was a ninety percent chance that they were walking into a trap. That just kind of came with the territory of their job, but they couldn’t pass up this opportunity to check it out. There were just enough rumors and radio chatter coming from hacked Galra communications that led the paladins to the cruiser. They hadn’t had any leads on Shiro’s whereabouts in the weeks since he vanished.  Needless to say, all of them would walk blatantly into a trap if it meant bringing Shiro home.

But now they weren’t any further than they had been before. There was no hint of Shiro on that Galra cruiser; just a handful of Druids and droids. The four paladins had barely been able to make it back to their lions stowed in one of the hangars. Lance had managed to get a nasty gash from some shrapnel on his cheek, and Keith had taken a blaster shot in the arm. His armor blocked most of the damage, but Lance could see the way he was hugging his arm to his chest, and switched holding his bayard to his other hand.

“Everyone out!” Keith shouted as the raced through the corridors of the base.

Pidge and Hunk were in the lead and Keith and Lance were falling behind to provide cover. Lance was taking every shot he could, eliminating a vast majority of the sentry bots that were pursuing them.

Just as they were almost clear, three Druids arrived in the hangar, hands crackling with strange energy that were aimed at Keith’s retreating back. Lance saw them fire at him, the energy following Keith into Red’s maw just as her jaw snapped shut. Keith’s agonized screams rang through the comms loudly, and cut out just as soon as they started.

“Keith! Keith! Man, answer me,” Lance demanded as he sprinted to his pilot seat. He tried to hail Keith in his lion but there was no response on the video channels either.

“Lance, what happened to Keith?” Hunk asked worriedly.

“The Druid’s hit him with something,” Lance answered as he played with his controls to get Blue ready to take off.

“Look!” Pidge alerted them. “Red’s on the move.”

Lance watched the lion rocket out of the hangar, but he knew Keith wasn’t at the controls. “Yeah, but I think she’s flying solo here. Everyone just get back to the castle as fast as possible. Hunk, call Coran and have him set up a pod. I’ll get Keith when we land,” Lance directed. He was trying to keep his voice from wavering. He followed close beside Red, and could feel Blue’s worry overshadowing his own. Something was definitely wrong. Worry settled heavily in the pit of his stomach; he was afraid for Keith.

After what felt like the longest flight of his life, Lance landed in the hangar after watching Red land. It wasn’t as swift as it usually was when Keith was at the controls. As soon as she touched down, and Blue was settled, he was up and out of his seat. Blue’s ramp was already down. And Red was in the process of opening up, which just added to Lance’s ever-growing concern.

When he entered Red, he expected to see Keith sprawled out right at the entrance. Instead, Lance only found Keith’s helmet off to the side of the small corridor like it had been thrown. The further in he went, the more pieces of armor he found littered about on the floor as if Keith was trying to strip down on his way to the pilot’s seat. It was like following a trail of breadcrumbs.

“What happened?” Lance murmured at the odd sight. This wasn’t what he expected to find at all. He entered the cockpit as the trail led there. And right behind the pilot’s seat was Keith’s balled up jumpsuit.

“Oh my god,” Lance let out a shaky breath. What was he even looking at? Did Keith freaking disintegrate? There was no sign of him other than his shed clothing.

Lance bent down to pick up his pilot suit, but the fabric was weighted down to the floor. He tugged harder, and there was a shift underneath it like he made something roll. Lance jumped back.

What was that?

Another small shift and Lance was morbidly curious. The heavy pit of worry in his stomach though pressed him to investigate. He still didn’t have an answer as to what happened to Keith.

He tugged at the suit once more, and pulled it down so he could unveil whatever was squirming around slightly inside. His heart was beating a mile a minute. He found the head hole, gently shifting it to the side, and found something completely unexpected. A mop of black hair poked through.

 _What? What is this? What am I seeing_? It was the only thing Lance could think. All other thoughts had promptly vanished from his brain.  

He pulled the fabric down further, and there was an ear, pointed and fuzzy with soft purple fur. And…that couldn’t be right. Even further, a small, slightly chubby face with eyes closed that were pinched in pain.

This was Keith.

Or a version of Keith. Lance had definitely seen weird things in space. Some mermaids, giant killer robots, even a dragon once. So why not this, too?

“Okay, okay….um,” Lance ran his hands through his hair, staring down at the small figure bundled up in the flight suit. What do you even do when presented with this situation? Because Lance was still trying to convince himself that this wasn’t a dream; that he was indeed staring at Keith. Just a Keith that seemed to have lost fifteen years since now he was a child. A purple, slightly fuzzy Galra toddler.

“Keith?” Lance called but he received no response or reaction. “Okay, bud. You’re gonna be fine. We’ll figure this out.” He pulled the collar of the suit down to rest against Keith’s little shoulders properly, and then rolled the legs up until his feet were visible, and the same with the arms to make it more manageable to move him. The suit was much too large for the now shrunken Keith.

“All right, that’s slightly better,” Lance murmured. Keith stirred where Lance had pulled him into his lap. A small whine escaped his lips. Not quite a cry, but he sounded distressed.

“Lance?” Hunk called through the comm link, startling him somewhat. “How’s Keith? Coran and I are on our way.”

“Keith is…alive.” How was he supposed to explain this situation? “Um, he’s definitely messed up from that magic blast.”

“Oh no,” Hunk gasped. “We’ll come up to help—“

“No,” Lance cut him off quickly. “Just wait outside. I’ll bring him out in a few. He’s not bloodied. Just…brace yourselves.”

“Lance, that’s really cryptic.”

“I know. It’s just hard to explain.” Lance sighed. Keith became more restless. Lance tried to soothe him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to move him quite yet. But maybe if he woke on his own, and could talk to him, that would be better. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and then slowly he opened them. Lance stifled a gasp. His eyes weren’t human either. His entire appearance had changed. He looked completely Galra. The whites of his eyes were now yellow, but he still had dark blue irises. Keith blinked dazedly up at him. Lance rubbed his arms trying to comfort him.

“Hey,” Lance started. Keith suddenly flailed and pushed away from Lance’s chest. “You’re okay.” Lance attempted to reassure him, and held him still, but— “Ow! You bit me!” Lance let go of Keith, and he skittered away from him across the floor. He didn’t have very far to go. The cockpit wasn’t that big, but Keith backed himself against the wall furthest from Lance, trying to hide under the control panel.

“Okay, okay,” Lance took a deep breath to keep himself calm. He couldn’t get mad at him for that. He was scared, and maybe hurting. Definitely hurting. His entire body had transformed in only a matter of minutes apparently from some dark voodoo magic. And maybe Keith didn’t remember him. Oh god, what if the magic messed with his mind, too?

Keith was hunched into himself. He appeared to be shivering.

“Keith,” Lance called to him softly. His head popped up to look at Lance. It lit a spark of hope in him that he at least seemed to recognize his own name.  Keith’s eyes were watery, but he wasn’t crying yet. “Do you know who I am?” Lance asked him.

Keith stared at him hard, and unblinking. His gaze was unsettling, but he didn’t give an answer, just kept on staring. The yellow of his eyes was a little strange to look at.

“That’s fine, that’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I’m Lance; your friend.” Lance stayed in place, not wanting to scare this confused, tiny Keith. “I know you’re probably feeling pretty bad, right? But I can help. I’m sorry if I hurt you before. I really didn’t mean to. Can I come over to you?”

Keith paused and then nodded. So Lance slowly scooted across the floor until he was within arm’s reach of Keith. He started to shy away back into the wall, as if trying to get away from Lance, or trying to keep his arm away from Lance. Keith was trembling, and he was scrunched up tight, trying to make himself smaller.

“Is your arm hurting?” Lance asked. He knew he had been shot there when they were escaping, but he did have his armor on. It must have penetrated like he originally thought. “Let me see?”

Keith hesitated, but stopped holding his arm so close to his body. Lance was able to easily slide the shoulder of Keith’s ill-fitting outfit down, and he found a dark blue, bordering on black, bruise on Keith’s bicep exactly where he had been shot.

Keith saw the injury, and it seemed to make him more upset. Tears sprung up in his eyes, and he sniffled, and whined a tad in the back of his throat.

“What…” Keith’s tiny voice whispered. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve been…hurt. But I’m here to help, okay?” Lance held his arms open like he wanted to hug Keith, it was a way he was trying to show him that he was going to pick him up too. Keith didn’t pull away, and Lance scooped him up being mindful of his injured arm.

“Hurt,” Keith mumbled as Lance stood up. It was so quiet he wouldn’t have caught it if he wasn’t holding him so close.

“I’m sorry—“

“No…you’re hurt.” Keith pointed to Lance’s face. He could definitely feel the sting on his cheek. But he was surprised Keith was concerned about him.

“Oh…yeah, but I’ll be fine,” Lance smiled down at Keith in his arms. It was so weird, so very weird holding him that way. “Let’s just focus on you.”

Keith nodded once wearily, and closed his eyes. Lance wasn’t sure if he was just trying to calm himself, or maybe he was falling asleep. Or unconscious? But Keith’s face fell into Lance’s shoulder and he went limp.  Lance picked up his pace.

“Hunk,” he called softly into the comm. “I’m coming out with Keith.”

He could see them waiting at the bottom of the ramp. Allura and Pidge had shown up as well. And the moment Lance came into their line of sight, their expressions changed to shock and confusion in unison.

“Lance, where…is that—“ Hunk stammered, too flustered to get out a full sentence.

“Druid magic,” Coran stated. “I’ve never seen a result such as this before though.”

Allura frowned looking at the Keith’s small form in Lance’s arms. “He’s a child, but why has his skin changed color? He actually looks like…a Galra.”

“This is how I found him,” Lance supplied weakly.

“Maybe it messed with his genetics?” Pidge said. “The magic or whatever. We knew he had some Galra blood. The blast could have brought it out. I mean that seems unlikely, but I didn’t think you’d be able to turn a fully grown person back into a child either.”

Coran hummed, and moved closer to Keith to get a better look at him. “It’s hard to say what happened exactly without further testing.”

 He placed his hand on Keith’s back, but Keith wriggled in Lance’s arms, as if uncomfortable with the extra touch. He whined a little into Lance’s chest. “Don’t worry, bud. I got you.” Lance murmured quietly to Keith. Lance then looked up to Coran. “He’s still injured. We should move to the infirmary.”

“Oh! Yes, of course,” Coran stepped away. “I had prepared a pod, but we may want to hold off on that for a bit.”

Coran led the way out of the lion hangar. The small procession headed down the castle halls in silence. Not even Keith made a peep, but Lance could tell he was awake; he could feel the tension in his back as he carried him.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Lance whispered soothingly. “We’ll get you fixed up and you’ll feel much better. Promise.”

Lance could feel Keith relax and slowly melt further into Lance’s embrace. He didn’t know if this was a permanent thing or not. But Keith was small, scared, and vulnerable. They would fix this. There had to be a way, but in the meantime, all that mattered was making Keith feel safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few week’s ago I asked for some writing prompts on tumblr, and silverheartlugia2000 gave me one stating “Deaged Keith, but stuck in Galra form”. At first, I didn’t think that would be the one to get me writing. And I thought if I wrote a story on this subject it would Lance I would do this with, not Keith. Haha but here we are. This is a little out of my element I think. I’ve never written a de-aged fic before. I just hope it turned out okay. 
> 
> And I already have some ideas for a part two, so I won't just leave you hanging here.


	2. Chapter 2

Coran was in the lead with the others trailing behind Lance. He could feel their eyes on him as they progressed down the hall, and frankly, Lance couldn’t blame them for staring. Everything about this moment was weird.

Lance felt like he was hallucinating a bit. Maybe it was all a bad dream? Or maybe he actually got a concussion on the mission because he still couldn’t comprehend how you could take a practically full-grown person and turn them into a kid again.  But he had living proof currently resting in his arms.

As they entered the sterile clean of the infirmary, Coran shooed Lance over to one of the examination tables, and went to gather some tools.

“Number five, some assistance please?” Coran called to Pidge and she followed after him.

Lance patted Keith’s back lightly, and then moved to set him down on the table. But as Lance bent forward, Keith whined and tried to dig his little fingers into Lance’s armor so he didn’t have to be put down.

“Aw, come on, Keith,” Lance took one of his hands in his own. “You gotta sit down here for a bit. I’ll be right next to you the whole time, okay?” Lance slowly pulled Keith away from his torso, gently setting him down on the table top. Keith sort of hunched into himself and kept his face down. Lance continued to hold onto his hand, and Keith squeezed it nervously.

He was honestly surprised at how much Keith was trusting him. He didn’t seem to recall who Lance was exactly, given that Keith was scared of him when he first found. But now he didn’t seem to want to be away from him. Maybe a small part of him knew that they were friends?

Lance jumped up beside him, and Keith quickly turned his face away from the room, and into Lance’s arm.  He was acting shy, but then again, Keith struggled sometimes with social interaction. And Lance was sure that he was generally not feeling all that great.

“How old do you think he is now?” Hunk asked, keeping his voice low.

Lance shrugged. “Not sure. Possibly five or six.”

Allura was looking curiously at Keith. “Can he speak?”

“I only got a few words out of him so far. He understands us, and he clearly knows his own name, but I think he’s just too confused and hurt to talk right now. I don’t want to pressure him, and make him feel unsafe or scared.” Lance sighed. “This is a really messed up situation.”

Coran and Pidge came back over to them a moment later with a cart of supplies in tow. Primarily they had a first aid kit, which Coran popped open. There were also a few strange devices; Lance wasn’t quite sure of their function.

“You said he was injured, correct?” Coran asked as he looked through the kit.

“Yeah, a really deep bruise on his bicep from a blaster shot,” Lance looked down at Keith. He was shaking a bit now, which troubled him. “Keith, hey buddy, can you show Coran your arm?”

Keith shook his head no, and didn’t move away from where he had buried his face.

“He can help with the pain. Make it so you feel better,” Lance tried to convince him, but Keith only shook his head again. “You don’t have to be afraid. Everyone here is your friend.”

Lance racked his brain for how he could get Keith to agree. He didn’t want to force him, because that would just be mean, but he needed medical attention. “Oh. Hey, look at me just for a moment, please.”

It took a minute, but Keith lifted his head up to look at Lance. It still caught him off guard at how strikingly different his eyes were. On top of that, they were a bit watery like Keith was holding back from crying. It hurt Lance’s heart to see him so upset, especially with the face of a little kid. “What if Coran helps with my hurt cheek, and then does your arm? I promise he won’t hurt you. If I go first, then will you let him help you?”

For the first time since they got back, Keith glanced at the others. Hunk and Allura looked shocked by seeing the change in Keith’s eyes, and he heard Pidge mutter a “whoa”.

“Only if you go first,” Keith’s voice was so soft when he spoke.  

“Deal,” Lance smiled. “Coran, could you please patch up my cheek first?”

Coran watched their exchange with a curious and amused expression. “Sure thing, my boy.”

He removed his gloves, only to replace them with medical latex ones, and then fetched some gauze and some kind of antibacterial cleaning solution. After wetting down the gauze, he gently wiped away the blood that had dried to Lance’s cheek. It stung, but Lance did his best not flinch with a watchful gaze on him.

“It’s a bit of a deep cut, but I have an ointment the will help this heal. It shouldn’t leave a scar either,” he explained as he retrieved the cream. Coran placed some over the cut, and then placed something similar to butterfly stitches over his cheek. He backed away after he finished. “All set then. Now, Keith will you let me see your arm. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Keith wriggled his arm free of his ill-fitting clothing and held it out to Coran.

“Oh my. That looks like it hurts a lot,” Coran reached for a bottle containing a blue gel inside. “Not to worry. This will help take away the pain. It will feel cool at first, but the bruise will not hurt as much. Sound good?”

Keith bobbed his head. Coran smeared a generous amount of the gel onto Keith’s arm. Lance watched him wince ever so slightly as Coran rubbed the gel in a little. He was being as gentle as possible, but it would no doubt hurt some. When he was finished, Coran took a roll of the gauze and wrapped Keith’s arm up to keep the gel from rubbing off on his clothing.

“There, all set,” Coran exclaimed joyfully. “I do wonder if we have some better fitting clothes for the lad though? Allura, can you think of anything?”

“Just some of the cryo-suits here,” she answered. “We have various sizes depending on species, but I’m sure there’s something else put away in storage. We’ll have to take a look later. I’ll go fetch a suit for him to wear in the meantime.” 

Lance observed Keith for a few moments. He was studying the others now, no longer shying away. Lance could still feel a slight tremor running through his body. At first, he thought it was because he was afraid, but now he wasn’t so sure.

“Keith, how do you feel? Is anything else bothering you?” He didn’t look good. He couldn’t tell if he was pale exactly, but he did seem a bit flushed.  “Or do you feel sick?” Lance peeled off his gloves and placed a hand lightly on the back of Keith’s neck. His skin oddly reminded him of the texture of peach fuzz.  He was pretty warm to the touch, which he didn’t notice before since Keith was up against him while he was still in his armor.

“Yeah,” Keith murmured. “Hurts… all over. Like tingly and hot.”

“Aw, buddy. I think you’ve got a fever,” Lance ran his hand over Keith’s cheek.

“Let me see,” Coran picked up a small device. It looked similar to handheld scanners used in department stores to price check items. He held it a few inches away from Keith’s forehead. A red light emitted from it, and with a beep, Coran pulled it away to read the results. “Well, he’s slightly higher than what we’ve recently calculated as normal for humans. And while Galra run a little warmer than you do, this is a bit unsettling. Besides that his overall bio-rhythms seem fairly normal….considering”  

Lance frowned, and rubbed Keith’s back.

“Can you give him some medicine?” Pidge asked, glancing inside the first aid kit.

“Mmm yes.” Coran rummaged through its contents. He withdrew a vacuum sealed packet, resembling the travel packs of Tylenol, and ripped it open. “One tablet should suffice for his…um, size.” Coran held out the tablet, palm face up, for either Lance or Keith to grab.

Keith didn’t make a move to take it, so Lance reached out instead. “Here buddy, this will make you feel better.”

“Let it melt on your tongue, Keith,” Coran instructed. “It will disappear in a few ticks.”  

He hesitated, but Keith took it from Lance, and popped it into his mouth. His face scrunched up in a grimace at the taste. “Ew.”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, medicine never really tastes good.”

Keith nodded absently and then leaned his head against Lance’s chest plate. He seemed to be fading fast. Up until now, he was likely running on adrenaline. Heck, Lance definitely had a pretty good adrenaline rush going too, and now even he was feeling worn down. Scratch that, he was exhausted. They all were.

“I think maybe it’s best if we turn in for the evening,” Allura walked over to Lance. She held out a white jumpsuit for Keith. He took the clothing and draped it over his shoulder.  

“Right. We’ll check in on Keith’s condition in the morning then,” Coran glanced down at his gadgets, but all of them knew that putting Keith through tests wouldn’t do any good right now. “Come get me if there is any change with his health.”

“Of course.” Lance patted Keith’s shoulder. “Come on, time for bed.” Lance stood up from the table, and had to steady Keith when he started to list to the side. He was looking groggy already. Maybe it was the medicine, but he didn’t put up any kind of fuss when Lance pulled him into his arms once more.

Hunk wrung his hands together, looking like he wanted to help in some way. “Is there anything I can do?”

Lance shook his head and offered a smile. “No, I’m great with kids. We’ll be fine. We’re just gonna have a little slumber party.”

“Okay, you know where to find us if you need anything.”

“Yep, will do,” Lance waved and retreated out the doors. He was fine really with watching out for Keith. Lance was actually good with kids. He was the youngest in his family, but he had a couple nieces and nephews to look after. So he could handle this…probably.

It didn’t take long to get back to his room. When he opened the door the lights flicked on at his presence. Moving over to the bed he leaned down to let Keith onto the mattress. Fortunately, this time Keith didn’t try to cling to him, and easily sat down.

“You’re gonna bunk with me tonight, okay?” Lance asked him.

“Okay.”

Lance looked around the room trying to decide what to do first. He bent down on one knee and pulled open a drawer from the under storage. Grabbing an extra pillow, and one of the fluffy blankets he had stashed away. He set them on the bed. Lance took the med suit Allura gave him, and turned back to Keith.

“These clothes will fit better. It’s super stretchy and more comfortable than it looks,” Lance held it out to him. “Think you can get dressed for me?”

Keith nodded and took the suit. It was already opened down the front, so all he had to do was step into it. Lance turned his back to give him some privacy, and started shedding his armor. He could hear Keith shuffling about on the bed. Once he was solely in his own jumpsuit, and the movement from the bed ceased, Lance turned around again. Keith was dressed, and sitting in the same exact spot. The much too large suit was beside him, which Lance folded up and set off to the side.

“Feels better, right?” Walking over to the head of the bed, he waved for Keith to join him. He pulled down the covers and situated the second pillow beside his own, patting it invitingly. “You can lay down here. I’m going to change into my own PJs, and be back in a second.”

“Okay,” Keith said again. Always so quiet. He crawled across the bed and started to get himself comfortable.

Lance walked into the bathroom attached to the bedroom. As soon as the door shut behind him he slumped against it and let out a huge exhale. He buried his face in his hands. What even was going on? Keith was a kid now, and he was looking after him. And that was all fine. He was okay with that. He’d do anything for his friends. Even though he and Keith argued and butt heads sometimes, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t help him out. Especially now. This wasn’t even Keith’s fault. But it was just hard to get used to.

Lance looked in the mirror, and his reflection stared back a bit bedraggled. He took a few deep, calming breaths, and turned on the facet to let the water warm up. He really wanted a shower but that would have to wait until morning.

Quickly stripping out of his undersuit, he took a washcloth from the counter, and wet it. He ran it over his face lightly, avoiding his cut, and then a few times over his chest to get rid of some lingering sweat.

“I still feel gross,” Lance mumbled. A glorified sponge bath was not his idea of relaxing, but he didn’t want to leave Keith alone for too long. He brushed his teeth hurriedly, and dressed in his pajamas that he had left there that morning.

The door opened quietly with a swish of air. His bedroom lights had dimmed to be almost completely dark. They didn’t turn up again as Lance made his way to the bed.

Keith had rolled over to face the wall, the blanket pulled up over his head. There were light sniffles coming from him. Lance’s heart broke; Keith was crying silently to himself.

Lance wordlessly lifted back the covers to lay down under them. He turned on his side to face the wall as well. Keith stiffened and took a few breaths like he was trying to stop himself from crying, but it only managed to sound like a few painful hiccups.

“Hey,” Lance whispered. “You know it’s okay to cry if you’re upset or not feeling well. You don’t have to hide it from me, buddy. I cry too sometimes, when I miss home or things just aren’t going great. You can let it out.”

Shockingly, Keith turned around and Lance could see tears in his eyes, and tracks down his cheeks. “If you’re upset, that’s all right. And you don’t even have to tell me why. But do you want a hug?” Keith nodded almost instantly, and scooted over into Lance’s arms. Lance hugged him as tight as he thought Keith could bear.

The poor boy suddenly burst into tears. Keith let out a loud, gasping sob, stifled by Lance’s shirt. Tears ran free and heavy down his face.

None of them could explain what was going on. Keith was confused, and it finally seemed to build up past his breaking point. So Lance continued to hold him, whispering to him. He even started to hum a small lullaby he remembered hearing his sister sing to one of her kids. It was all he could do to try and comfort him.

After a while, Keith sobs tapered off and he cried himself to sleep. Lance’s shirt was damp from his tears, yet he didn’t let go. He continued to stroke Keith’s back as he succumbed to his own exhaustion, slowly he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a bit with getting this chapter done, but I hope it's okay. I promise Keith will have some happier moments in the next chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for reading...lol I don't really know how far this story will go exactly.


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up was hard.

Lance certainly never claimed to be a morning person, but this time it felt like his mind clicked on before his body even wanted to move. The mattress felt good underneath him, but his body was stiff like he had maintained the same position all night long.

Rolling over onto his side, his cheek stung painfully as he pressed it into the pillow.

“Ow,” Lance moaned. Giving up on his few more minutes of rest, he decided he should just get out of bed. Something didn’t feel right as he rolled over onto his back again. He opened his eyes, the room was still dark, but his bed was missing one extra person.

“Keith!” Crap, where did he go? Lance was usually a light sleeper when he wasn’t wearing his eye mask or headphones. He was surprised he didn’t feel Keith get out of the bed considering he would have had to crawl over Lance to get out.

Lance threw back the covers and practically vaulted out of bed. “Okay don’t panic. He’s on the ship. He’s fine.” He scanned the room, twirling in a circle. Maybe he was in the bathroom?

He walked over to the door, and knocked on it lightly. There was no response, but he opened it anyway. The light was on inside as the door slid open, which helped relieve some of Lance’s panic.

He clutched his hand over his heart, a sigh of relief escaping him. “Oh, thank goodness,” Lance murmured.

Keith was sitting in front of the full-length mirror, knees pulled up and his chin resting on them; he was looking at his reflection. Lance had no idea how long he had been in there. “Are you all right?” Lance asked coming to stand behind him. Keith’s gaze flicked up to his meet his in the reflection.

 “I don’t look like you,” he stated simply. He didn’t seem upset, though.

Oh geez. Lance wasn’t sure how to respond exactly, he didn’t think he’d be starting off his morning with this kind of conversation. “Uh, not right now you don’t, but that’s okay.”

“I don’t think this is how I’m supposed to look, but… but I can’t remember,” Keith cast his eyes to the floor, and wrapped his arms around himself. “I look like a monster.”

“What? No, no you’re not,” Lance bent down on one knee to be closer to Keith’s level. “You look a little different right now, but that’s not a bad thing.”

“Why though? I’m purple.”

Lance sighed, but he smiled at Keith. “Have you heard of Superman?”

Keith looked like he had to think about it for a moment, then his eyes lit up in recognition. “Yeah, the superhero.”

“Right! You’re like Superman, he was from Krypton, but raised on Earth.”

Keith’s face scrunched up. “I’m…from another planet?”

Maybe this was the wrong track to go down. Even normal Keith didn’t get Lance’s pop culture references. “No, not exactly. But you’re kind of half from another…you’re sort of part human, and part alien. Their called Galra”

“Oh.” Keith paused, looking at Lance. “Do I have powers too?”

Lance chuckled, “No, bud, I don’t think you do. But you’re pretty super.” He ruffled his hair, Keith ducked his head a little like he didn’t know what Lance was going to do. He didn’t quite flinch away from him, but it was close. Lance slid his hand down to rest on his shoulder instead. “Are you feeling better?”

“I think so…” there was a lilt to his voice like he was questioning himself.

“Does something still feel off?” Lance probed.

“I don’t know. My head feels fuzzy, but not bad fuzzy like before.” Keith seemed to be having difficulty putting his thoughts together, like he couldn’t quite explain himself the way he wanted.

“We can work on that. As long as you don’t feel sick anymore.” Lance didn’t feel a fever when he touched him.

“No, just like I can’t remember things all the way. It’s blurry.”

Lance wished he could fix this. He hated seeing this sad, and confused Keith. Not that he didn’t mind looking after him, but the fact that this shouldn’t have happened in the first place weighed heavily on him.

“Okay, we’ll figure this out. How about we get ready for the day, and then go grab some breakfast?”

Keith agreed with a nod. Lance stood up from his spot on the floor and moved back out in the bedroom. He grabbed his regular clothes. Keith kind of stood in the center of the room looking unsure of what to do with himself.

“Hmm, Keith, would you be all right for a few minutes if I take a shower?” Lance jabbed his thumb over his shoulder towards the bathroom. “I don’t know if you wanna walk around with me if I’m leaving a stink trail down the halls.”

He thought he saw a twitch of a smile on Keith’s face. “I’ll wait,” Keith answered, and trotted over to the bed. He climbed up onto the mattress and situated himself against the wall.

“Thanks, dude,” Lance smiled at him and quickly dashed into the bathroom.

He couldn’t take as long as he wanted, but a quick hot shower was definitely needed at this point. The shower was a nice reprieve from the stress that encompassed the past day. And as much as he wanted to stay under the stream for another hour or so, Lance cut it short. He didn’t want to keep Keith waiting.

After quickly toweling off, he dressed and went back out into his bedroom. Keith had one of the blankets wrapped around himself where he was sitting, but otherwise hadn’t moved much.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Lance said. He picked up his jacket from where he had it hanging on a hook. “Still good?”

Keith shrugged inside his blanket bundle. “It’s cold.”

Oh, yeah. The ship was always a little chilly. Lance accounted it to them being in the freezing vacuum of space almost constantly. “I think I can help with that,” he held out his hand for Keith to take. “Come on, I’ll get you something to wear and then maybe we can convince Hunk to make pancakes.”

Keith unraveled himself from the blankets and jumped off the bed. He took Lance’s hand, and together they left the room. They didn’t have to go very far. Lance led them into the bedroom next door, which so happened to be Keith’s, and instantly found what he was looking for.

“That’s…mine,” Keith suddenly pointed to the red and white jacket on the hook by the door.

Lance picked it up, and held it down to him. “Yeah, here. Slide it on.” He held it open for Keith to put his arms into. Needless to say it was big on him. The hem of the jacket hung slightly below Keith’s hips, and his hands didn’t even make it out of the sleeves. “Let’s roll these up.” Lance laughed, and grabbed them. “There. All set.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, you knew this was yours…how did you know?” he probed carefully.

“I just knew. I had this before.”

“Keith I…do you know how old you are?” Lance asked. He didn’t want to ask this now, but it had to come up sooner or later.

Keith looked at him, a little wide-eyed. Almost as though the question caught him off guard. “I’m…I’m…” His face scrunched up as tried to recall. Then a look of fear crossed his features. He stepped backwards away from Lance. “I don’t know. I don’t know.” His breathing stuttered, and he took a rasping breath as he tried to form words, but Lance could see panic starting to envelop Keith.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. Deep breaths,” Lance coached. He didn’t need him to start hyperventilating. “You’re all right and it’s fine if you can’t remember right now.” Even though he said that, it carved a pit of worry into his heart. Why was Keith having difficulties remembering? The shock from his transformation maybe…they could just be repressed. Lance didn’t truly think they were gone completely as Keith seemed to vaguely recognize some things.

“Come on, bud. It’s okay,” He sat down, and crossed his legs. Gently he coaxed Keith to come sit in his lap. It wasn’t hard to get him to comply. He rubbed his hand up and down his back, trying to get Keith to calm down. His breaths turned into small gasps, and tears formed in his eyes. Lance carded his fingers lightly through Keith’s hair. He felt terrible, he didn’t mean for the question to set him off so badly. It took a few minutes but finally, he settled down and leaned heavily into Lance’s shoulder.

“Is something wrong with me?” Keith asked quietly.

Oh no. That was a bit of a loaded question at the moment, and Keith was looking up at him with a questioning gaze, watching Lance.  “You were in an accident yesterday. That’s why things are a little difficult for you right now.”

Keith hummed, musing over Lance’s answer. It wasn’t a complete lie, more of a half-truth. Hopefully, Keith accepted it for now.

Time to change the subject!

“How about some breakfast, huh?”

Keith nodded, and he stood up from Lance’s lap, wiped at his eyes and tugged the jacket closer around his shoulders. Lance followed, and patted Keith on the shoulder. He extended his hand down for Keith to take as they made their way through the halls.

The closer they got to the kitchen, the stronger the scent of whatever Hunk was cooking got. Keith actually started to walk a little faster, pulling Lance’s hand to get him to move quicker. He shouldn’t have known which direction to go, but Keith was almost leading Lance through the corridor now.

“Smells good, huh?” Lance mused. The two of them reached the kitchen, and the door opened automatically. A sweet scent of baked goods wafted out into the hallway, smelling like warm dough and a hint of cinnamon.

“Hunk, are you making cinnamon rolls?” Lance practically bounced into the room walking up to the counter where Hunk had his ingredients laid out. He was the only one in the kitchen at the moment.

“Yeah, thought it would be a nice way to start the day given…well, everything else that’s been going on.” Hunk was stirring a bowl of something blue. “How was your night?” He looked down, and immediately smiled when he saw Keith trying look over the counter. He was leaning up on his tiptoes trying to see but the tip of his nose barely came up to the countertop.

“It was fine,” Lance shrugged. A yawn escaped him. He slept soundly enough, but he could definitely use a nap or something. “I think Keith is feeling a little better this morning. Right, bud?”

Keith glanced away from his observation of what was happening on the counter to look sidelong at Lance, then back to Hunk again. It didn’t look like he was going to say anything, clamming up in the presence of others again.

“Yeah,” Keith answered, albeit softly.

Hunk grinned at him. “That’s good to hear.” The timer for the oven started to beep, drawing his attention away momentarily, he grabbed his oven mitts to retrieve his tray. “I’m sure the others will be here soon. You can take a seat at the table and I’ll bring breakfast over once I ice these puppies up.”

“Awesome!” Lance grabbed two water pouches first from the fridge before heading over to the table. Keith followed at his heels. He set the pouches down in order to pull the chair out from the table. “Ready to eat?”

Keith nodded and clambered up into the chair. This was the formal dining room after all and the chairs were rather large. It dwarfed Keith in comparison. Lance snickered a bit. “Hm, we may have a bit of an issue here. You’re a little small for the table.”

“I… I can fit,” Keith said almost stubbornly. He sat up on his knees so he was closer to the table and able to reach.

“Is that gonna work for you?” Lance questioned his stance. Sitting on your knees for a long period of time was super uncomfortable. Keith nodded determinedly. “Okay. Your call.” Lance poked a straw into the pouch and slid it over for Keith to take, and sat down beside him.

The door across the room opened, the second entrance to the dining room, and Pidge walked in. Her hair was mussed, and she swiped at her eyes groggily. Either she never went to bed or just woke up. It was difficult to tell.

“Morning, “she grumbled, and sat down across from Lance. Definitely not fully awake. Coran and Allura arrived a moment later through the same door Pidge just came through.

“Good morning, everyone,” Allura greeted cheerily.

“Looks like everyone is in fine spirits this morning,” Coran said happily, but was looking pointedly at Lance and Keith, a data pad held in his hands.

“Yep, we’re all good,” Lance answered.

“Good, good.” Coran continued on past the table into the kitchen to assist Hunk, while Allura took her seat at the head of the table. It was kind of odd that everyone was conducting themselves as though everything were normal, but then again what were they going to do?

It didn’t take them long before they both returned from the kitchen. A floating tray was being pushed out with the cinnamon rolls, and a large bowl of some kind of mixed fruit Hunk had cut up. Coran placed down some cutlery and dishes as he walked around the table, and Hunk served out his food to each plate.

Pidge perked up when she saw the rolls. “Oh yes!” She greedily started eating her food like she had been starving. Everyone else followed suit, just with a little less vigor than Pidge.

“Hunk,” Lance practically moaned into his roll. “This is the greatest thing in the world. It’s so warm.”

“Thanks. I’m glad they turned out well.” Lance glanced at Keith who had yet to touch his own food. “Are you hungry?” Lance asked, a bit worried. Maybe he wasn’t as well as he originally thought.

Keith nodded hesitantly.

“Oh, okay. Well, don’t hold back. You can eat as much as you want.” It concerned Lance at how hesitant Keith was. Maybe it was a side-effect of his condition…or something else. When he thought about it, Lance really didn’t know much about Keith’s upbringing as a kid. But right now he was almost the complete opposite of how he knew him. Adult Keith was guarded, sure, but not this reserved. Was this truly how Keith was as a child, or was he merely stunned from the trauma he unknowingly went through only a day ago?

Lance wanted to scream. These were not happy breakfast time thoughts.

Okay, focus.

Keith reached out for his food. The sleeves of the jacket had slid down once more to cover his hands, and he flapped his arms to push the sleeves away.

Pidge bust out laughing suddenly and Keith startled. “Sorry, sorry!” She apologized quickly. “That was just really cute. I wish I took a picture.”

Lance was laughing, too. “That was very cute actually.”

Keith seemed to shrink away at first from the attention, pink tinting his cheeks, and Lance could swear it was from a bit of embarrassment. But then he just reached forward and grabbed his cinnamon bun. Everyone was staring at him as he bit into the food, and he made a contented hum as he chewed on it. Much like Pidge, the bun was gone in seconds.

“Was that good?” Lance asked lightly. Impressed at how quickly Keith downed the treat.

“Yeah,” Keith answered. “Can…can I have one more?”

“Of course,” Hunk answered excitedly, picking up the platter and holding it out to Keith for him to choose one. He easily grabbed one and continued munching, more slowly this time. Since he was happy, they didn’t rush through breakfast. The other stuff could wait just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this update. I was having trouble putting it together. Slightly more angst than I originally intended, but I guess that's my default setting haha. 
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter, and thanks so much for the comments so far. I love reading them, they make me so happy!


	4. Chapter 4

Keith had quite the appetite and sweet tooth, Lance observed. He managed to scarf down three cinnamon buns, and two scoops of fruit. Frankly, he was surprised he managed to eat so much. Keith asked politely each time for Lance to serve him some food. It was super cute.

After everyone seemed settled and had their fill of breakfast, the chatter started to taper off. Keith sat back down in his seat, off his knees, and his chin just barely cleared the table top. He still watched everyone, interested in what was going on. He seemed pretty relaxed, Lance was fairly certain he even giggled at a few of Hunk’s jokes.

“All right,” Coran said with a clap of his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “I’ve had to make some changes to our agenda. Allura and I discussed this last night, and we will forego any training today so you may do as you please for the time being after we get a few things squared away. To begin, Lance we need to do a little check-up after this in the infirmary.”

“Aye-aye, Captain,” Lance said with a mock salute.

He caught Keith looking up at him with an odd expression, brow furrowed like he was confused. “I thought she was the captain?” He whispered, looking over to Allura shyly.

Lance snorted. “Allura? Well, uh, yeah. This is her ship, and she’s a princess. So technically she’s like a captain.”

Keith nodded accepting his answer. Allura smiled having heard their conversation. That had to be a good thing since he had that inclination without being told. His memories were still there, lingering beneath the surface of…whatever magic was cast over him.

“I’ll go look through some of storerooms to find you an outfit to wear for the day,” Allura stood up from the table. She brought her dish over to the floating serving tray. Everyone else started to get up as well following her lead.

“Lance, what are we doing?” Keith questioned.

“Just like Coran mentioned… a little checkup since you weren’t feeling well last night, and then we’ll try and do something fun after.” Lance explained.

“Okay,” Keith jumped out of his chair and came up beside Lance, taking his hand.

Hunk volunteered to do the dishes while everyone else was busy. Pidge offered to come with them down to the med bay, so the four of them went down together. Keith continued to hold Lance’s hand tightly as they walked, and he wondered if maybe he was nervous. And if he was, well, his expression hardly showed it. Lance gave him a reassuring squeeze back anyway.

Upon entering the med bay, everything was in the same place as where the left it from the night before. Lance led Keith over to the exam table.

“Wanna hop up here?”

He nodded, and Lance bent down and picked Keith up under his arms to lift him up onto the table.

Keith was staring intently at the tray filled with tools. He looked disturbed, and scared once he was able to fully see them. He was much more aware during his second trip to the infirmary. Lance wordlessly rubbed his back, attempting to calm him.

“This should be a fairly quick exam. Just want to make sure the fever is gone, and everything is tip-top,” Coran arranged some of the things he needed. “Can you take off your coat please, Keith?” Coran asked kindly.

Lance grabbed the jacket at the shoulders and Keith easily slid his arms out of the too-long sleeves. He hunched into himself a bit more at the absence of it. Lance folded the jacket up and set it off to the side to retrieve afterward, and then put his hand back on Keith’s shoulder to provide a semblance of warmth.

Coran muddled about, then walked up beside Keith who visibly tensed. Lance could feel every muscle in his body go taut.

“Sorry, Keith, but look here,” Coran prompted. He was holding something in his hands. Keith hesitantly glanced his way, a light mist was suddenly sprayed directly into his face. He startled backward bumping into Lance’s chest. Then with a few slow and lazy blinks, a moment later he went completely slack in Lance’s grip.

“Coran!” Lance screeched, his voice jumping an octave. Hastily he situated Keith so that he could see his face. He looked to be sleeping. “What the heck did you do?”

Pidge was watching with an equally horrified expression.

“I’m sorry, Lance. It was a simply a mild sedative. He’ll only be asleep for half a varga,” Coran moved over to his instruments.

“You could have said something!”

“I didn’t want to stress him and have the readings be altered. It’s better this way. Please understand. I did this in his best interest. These aren’t normal circumstances. But you should know I would never harm Keith.”

Lance huffed. “Yeah, well we don’t just randomly anesthetize children without warning, Coran.”

“Or you know, anyone for that matter,” Pidge added pointedly.

“I apologize,” Coran said sincerely. “There just wasn’t time to discuss the matter between breakfast and now. Besides Keith is not supposed to be a child in the first place, hence our reason for being here.”

“Fine,” Lance said and cradled Keith closer to his chest.

“Now the sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll have some answers.” Coran grabbed one of the scanners and fiddled with the knobs. “You’ll have to set him down on the bed so this can be done correctly.”

Lance frowned. He gently laid Keith down flat, and stepped off to the side, out of the way.

“Do you even know how to fix this, Coran?” Lance asked trying to distract himself from worry.

Coran didn’t look away from what he was doing. “I’ve seen magic do numerous, unbelievable things in my time. Nothing quite like this, however. We’ll do our best to figure this out.”

Pidge had her laptop plugged in to examine the readouts and how they related to human biology to see if they could learn what exactly affected Keith’s body. The magic must have manipulated his DNA is some way. How else could they explain his now purple, fuzzy complexion and small stature?

Lance couldn’t help but pace the room. He didn’t know why, but he felt responsible and protective over Keith. Most likely because Keith didn’t have a clue what was going on, and in this young, defenseless form. He just wanted to look out for him the best he could.

But the time seemed to pass at a snail’s pace as he watched Coran work around Keith, and seeing Keith’s prone form on the table made his heart ache uncomfortably. All the tests were scans of some kind, but he couldn’t tell if the results were good or bad. Coran had a rather stoic expression as he worked. But what really caught Lance’s attention was when Coran had something in his hand that resembled a glue gun, but with a sharp needle point at the end.

“What is that?” Lance snapped. He didn’t mean to, it just sort of came out that way.

“I just need a blood sample to run through the DNA scan,” Coran explained. “It won’t be but tick.”

“Then you’ll be finished?”

“Yes. I do want to check on his arm before we finish here, however.”

Lance hadn’t thought about that. Keith didn’t complain about it this morning, and he got dressed without any troubles. But Lance should have thought to check on him, too.

Coran rolled up Keith’s sleeve on his uninjured arm. Keith didn’t even flinch. He was so still, except Lance could see the calm rise and fall of his chest. Coran acquired his sample quickly. A small tube in the middle of the device now filled with thick, red blood. Lance averted his eyes. He didn’t really like the sight of blood on a normal day.

He moved the sleeve up on the other arm. It was loose enough that he could see up to where the dark bruising was the previous night. Coran unwrapped the gauze that was in place, and revealed the bruise. It has significantly lightened in color and looked like it didn’t hurt as much. Still, he took some of the ointment he used previously and smeared it on, wrapping it up in some fresh bandages.

“There. All set,” Coran smoothed Keith’s hair affectionately.

Keith was still asleep when Coran was finished with all of his ministrations. Lance unfolded the jacket, and scooped him up in it. He moved to leave the med bay.

“Where are you gonna go?” Pidge asked.

“The lounge, I think,” Lance answered. He tried to keep the bitterness he felt out of his voice. Nothing bad was happening. Everyone was just trying to help. He took a deep, calming breath with his back turned to the both of them.

“I’m sorry for being snippy with you, Coran,” Lance apologized.

Coran smiled. “I understand. We’re all worried about him.”

“I’ll look through this and join you in a bit.” She said, eyes roving over the information on the screen.

Lance nodded and left. Once he got up to the lounge he sat down, settling Keith on the couch with his head on a cushion. Lance sat close by above his head, and stroked his hair.

He wanted to get Keith back to normal, but a tiny part of Lance actually kind of liked this. Keith was a cute kid. He just wanted to make him happy. But maybe when he was back, they could grow closer as friends. He realized there was a lot he had yet to learn about this boy.

The door opened to the lounge and in walked Allura. She smiled and noted Keith, so she kept her voice low. “I was able to find an outfit that should suit him in this state.” She lifted up a bundle of fabric to show him and strode over to them. The mice followed her in from the hall.

“Oh good. Thanks,” Lance said.

She set it down on the couch and sat across from Lance. “How are you doing?”

“Me?” I’m… fine.”

She nodded. “It’s very kind of you to look after Keith while he’s… like this. I never really had much practice dealing with young ones. There weren’t too many Altean children in the castle.”

Lance shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “It’s no big deal. I’m an uncle, after all. I know how little kids work…usually. Keith is a bit of an odd one.”

“Well, this is an odd circumstance.” Allura supplied.

“Yeah,” Lance sighed. “I’m sure he would be totally embarrassed if he found out this happened. Or if he eventually remembers.”

“Indeed.”

The mice popped up the edge of the sofa where it was even with the floor. They scurried behind Lance and looked down curiously at Keith. Then they crawled down laying on his stomach. The movement made Keith stir.

“Hey, buddy. You waking up?” Lance called tenderly.

Keith scrunched up his face, rolled his head to the side. He blinked, looking up at Lance blearily. Some slight confusion on his face when he finally took in his surroundings.

“What?” Keith mumbled sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room some more. Then he noted the mice on him. He smiled at them, and gently stroked the top of Platt’s head with the tip of his finger. “I fell asleep?”

“Uh yeah, buddy. Seems like you’re doing better. Must have been tired since you woke up so early this morning.” He didn’t want to needlessly worry him, so he avoided the truth for now.

“Oh.” He saw Allura across the room. “Hi,” he greeted her. And Lance almost couldn’t contain himself. It was really the first time Keith had openly spoken to someone. He was so proud.

“Hello there,” Allura waved with a kind smile. “I found some clothes for you if you want to try them on later.”

He looked to where she pointed. “Thank you.”

Keith didn’t move to get up. Lance continued to run his hands through his hair.

“Lance?” Keith whispered, eyes closed once again.

“Yeah?”

“Can I sleep some more?” Keith murmured hand still lightly petting one of the mice resting on his stomach.

“Sure thing, bud.”

Allura chuckled softly and got up from her spot. She walked over to a corner where there was a hidden storage in the wall and withdrew a blanket that had been stashed inside. She returned, unfolding it to drape the blanket over Keith and the mice, and patted him on the shoulder.

Lance thanked her and she nodded silently back to him. A little more rest would do them some good.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long to get another chapter out, and if this is lacking in some ways. I usually don't have two WIPs going at once. Also, I apologize if there are more errors in this chapter than usual. I kept getting distracted while trying to edit. All the craziness of the holidays!


	5. Chapter 5

Lance was woken up by the sound of laughter; it was light like someone was trying to keep quiet. He opened his eyes and saw Pidge snickering from the doorway, her phone in her hand. She waved it proudly at him, and he could make out an image on the screen of him and Keith.

“You had to know I was going to get of pic of this eventually,” She grinned. “You two look very adorable napping on the couch together, by the way.”

Lance only intended to shut his eyes for a few minutes, but he must have nodded off while he was sitting with Keith. Allura was no longer in the room, and Pidge was hovering by the door. Even though she had just been laughing, he could see there was something on her mind. “Everything okay?”

“Coran has the results back from the tests he did earlier,” Pidge told him. “We think we figured out what’s going on. He can explain it to you in a bit. He should be here soon.”

That made Lance’s stomach flip. Was it going to be bad news? “Where is he?”

“On the bridge.  I think he’s filling in Hunk and Allura first,” Pidge said.

Lance nodded. He looked down at Keith who was still fast asleep. He ran a hand over his forehead; he felt a little warm, but it wasn’t alarming. He was bit surprised to still see him asleep though.

“Do you know how long I was out?”

Pidge shrugged. “Not too long. About an hour.”

Okay. So not as long as he originally assumed. It’s not like he had anything to do really, well other than try and figure out the best way to help Keith. And Keith looked so cute napping, his face was kind of smushed into the side of the couch, but he didn’t look uncomfortable. Lance really didn’t want to disturb him, but he didn’t want him to sleep the day away either. Plus, he was kind of worried. He could have simply been groggy from the sedative, but what if this fatigue was a symptom of the magic in his system?

“Hey, Keith.” Lance quietly said, shaking his shoulder slightly. “Time to wake up, buddy.”

The mice were still napping on Keith’s stomach underneath the blanket and skittered out from their cozy little hideaway. They sat on the edge of the couch observing. Keith opened his eyes after Lance called to him once more.

He rubbed the heel of his hand into his eye to clear away the sleep. “What?” Keith asked groggily.

“Come on, sleepy head. It’s time to get up,” Lance joked.

“Okay.” Keith sat up, still a bit dazed from his nap. But seemed better than before. A little more alert.

“How are you feeling?” Lance probed.

“Okay,” Keith mumbled. “I’m still sleepy.”

“Take your time, bud. We don’t have to go anywhere right away,” Lance said.

His eyes were drawn away from Keith to more movement by the doorway. Like Pidge had said, Coran had come to find them. He walked into the lounge, Hunk and Allura trailing behind him. Hunk had a plate with some kind of pink and yellow striped fruit on it, and a pouch of water. He was the only one of the three to come all the way into the lounge.

He came down to the couches and sat beside Keith. “Hey, buddy. I brought you a snack if you want it.” He offered the plate to Keith, but Keith looked to Lance for permission first. “This fruit is super tasty!”

“If you want it, go for it.” Lance smiled.

“Lance, a moment please?” Coran asked.

“Sure.” Lance stood up. He turned to Keith, who already had a slice of fruit shoved halfway into his mouth. “I’ll be back in a few. Enjoy your snack and if you finish before I’m back, you can change into the new clothes Allura found for you. All right?”

Keith nodded as he chewed his food. Lance then followed Coran and Allura out into the hall.

“What’s up, Coran?” Lance asked, though he was dreading the answer. “You have the results, right? Is it bad?”

“It isn’t good, I’m afraid. After looking through the tests and checking Keith’s blood, well its appearing like the magic definitely damaged his DNA,” Coran explained.

“Damaged?” Lance choked.

“Maybe that was a strong choice of words. But the reason for his change seems to be because his DNA is essentially unzipping. It’s why he looks more like a Galra, than a human. I think he is stable for now, but there’s no telling if that will change in the future.”

Lance felt like he had just been doused in ice water. “Can…can we fix this?”

Coran fiddled with his mustache as he searched for the best way to continue his explanation. “I have never witnessed anything like this. I am not an expert when it comes to these matters, but I do believe we can correct this.”

“But Lance,” Allura started. “It won’t be easy for Keith. This process could be… painful for him. Just as it was when he was first struck by the magic. But if we don’t try to fix this, his condition could worsen to the point that he could…” she paused, and swallowed like the words she was about to say were bitter. “He could die.” She finished.

He couldn’t even help it. The dread overwhelmed him, and he felt his knees go weak. Unwillingly he slid to the floor against the wall.

“Lance!” Coran bent down beside him, concerned.

Lance looked up at Coran; he felt so distraught. “He’s going to die from this?”

“Don’t despair,” Coran tried to comfort him. “Like I said, we should be able to correct this. I believe we have the tools to do so.”

“I just don’t want him to be in pain. Right now he looks and thinks like a little kid, and I don’t want to hurt him. Even if he weren’t this way, this still sounds terrible. Keith doesn’t deserve this.”

“I know it sounds bad, but if we don’t pursue this path, the alternative is far worse.” Coran defended. “We have Keith’s DNA cataloged from before this occurred so we can do a sort of… well, Pidge phrased it as a ‘factory reset’. We just have to recalibrate one of the pods to do so, and have Allura and the castle supply a little bit of quintessence magic. Then, in theory, he should be restored to normal.”

Lance took a deep breath. “I get it I think. How much time do you need to get things set up?”

“Hunk and Pidge will be helping me with the pods in just a little while. It shouldn’t be ready until tomorrow morning.”

“And he should be okay until then?” Lance asked. If Keith was unstable he was afraid for him the longer they waited to correct this, but they had no other choice.

“Keith is stable for now,” Allura informed him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Do you think I should…tell him what’s going to happen?”  It wasn’t something Lance wanted to do, he was feared what it would do to Keith. But at the same time, they couldn’t just throw Keith into the situation without any prior knowledge, especially since it would cause him significant pain. It seemed cruel.

“If you think he can handle it,” Allura answered. “I understand it might be difficult, but perhaps it would help to inform him of what’s to come.”

Lance sighed, shoulders drooping, but he nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too.  Okay. I’ll keep looking after him until tomorrow. He probably won’t believe me but I’ll try to tell him about everything.”

“Thank you, Lance,” Coran smiled at him.

Allura offered a hand to Lance and tugged him up from off the floor. Then she pulled him into a hug. “This is hard for all of us, but it will be all right.”

Lance hugged her back tightly. “I know it will be. Thank you.”

Lance took a few moments to compose himself in the hallway, then finally returned to the lounge. Keith had changed into the new set of clothes Allura had brought for him, a pair of black pants and a simple red tunic, but it fit much better than having him wear the cryo-suit all the time. He also had his jacket on, hanging too loose around his small frame. He was sitting next to Hunk on the couch, and the mice were performing on the floor in front of them.

They were doing little tricks and flips, and Keith was grinning as he watched them play. Lance could see Pidge sneaking photos of him on her camera from the couch opposite them. Lance couldn’t blame her. This was adorable.

“How are things going in here?” Lance asked smiling at them.

“Good. We were just waiting for you to get back.” Hunk replied.

“Lance!” Keith said rather excitedly. “Look at the mice!”

“I know, they’re super talented. They understand you, you know. So don’t forget the thank them.”

“They can talk too?” Keith said, bewildered.

Lance chuckled, “No, but they definitely seem to know what you’re saying.”

“Oh.” The mice did a little bow as they ended their performance. Keith practically giggled when they bowed. “Thank you for showing me your tricks.” There was still a piece or two of fruit on the plate Hunk had brought in with him. Keith offered it down to the mice. “Do you want the rest?” He asked them, and the mice chirped excitedly and scampered for the fruit. Then made their exit.

“Keith,” Lance called. “Want to go take a walk around the castle with me? I can show you some neat stuff.”

“Yeah!” He seemed happier after the nap and more energetic. His shyness wasn’t poking through as much, and Lance found it hard to think of him being in danger of his life. Other than being small and purple, he seemed perfectly fine.

“Cool,” Lance held out his hand for Keith to take. “Hunk we’ll probably be down in the hangars in a bit if you’re looking for us.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” Hunk looked a bit worried.

“I don’t see the harm. It might be good to do anyway,” it might jog Keith’s memory, is really what Lance was hoping for. But if he looked distressed then Lance would leave. “We’ll be careful.”

“All right. Have fun, Keith!” Hunk waved at them as the two of them headed out of the lounge.

Lance steered them to the bridge first. He thought it would be neat to bring up the star maps, and no one was around at the moment. The star display lit up the room, and Keith looked around awestruck.

“Wow,” he whispered.

Lance pointed out a couple planets they had visited before, but Keith didn’t show any kind of recollection upon hearing the names. So after watching the maps rotate for a while, Lance decided to head to the hangars after all. He had to circle back the way they had originally come, back past the lounge and the bedrooms to get to the elevator. It took a little longer to get down to the hangars with this route, but the zipline didn’t really seem like a good option at the moment.

Lance looked down at Keith. “I think you’re really going to like what I have to show you.”

Keith smiled and nodded rather eagerly. Since Keith couldn’t remember much he thought it might be exciting to see the lions. Who wouldn’t want to see a giant flying robot lion, anyway?

When the elevator doors parted they could see the blue lion immediately.

“Awesome!” Keith exclaimed. It was probably the loudest Keith had been since he was turned into a child.

“This is Blue,” Lance gestured towards her with a wave of his hand. “She’s my lion. Isn’t she beautiful?”

“Is she a… spaceship?” Keith asked while still gawking at Blue.

“Yeah. In a way.”

“Are there more of them?” Keith looked down the connecting corridor. The one that would lead them to Red’s hangar. It must have been instinctual, or perhaps it was their bond. She might be calling out to him.

“Sure there are more! Five in total.  I’ll show you one you’ll really like.” Lance took Keith’s hand and they walked into the next hangar. Lance was kind of worried that maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, but Keith seemed fine. In fact, he seemed to be drawn to Red; he was pulling at Lance’s hand as they walked to the next room.

Keith gasped as they came into view of Red. He let go of Lance and ran up to the lion’s paw.

“You like her?” Lance asked, amused.

“Yes! It’s like she is smiling at me!”

“Of course, she really likes you,” Lance grinned.

Keith ran under her belly, just taking in every aspect of his lion. “Can we fly her?”

It didn’t surprise him really that his first question was to fly her. In any case, this was still Keith. One of the greatest pilots in the universe. But he had to turn him down this time.

“No, sorry,” Lance said with a shake of his head. Keith stopped to gape at Lance like he had just told the kid he could never have ice cream ever again in his life. Quickly Lance tried to explain, “Red won’t let me fly her. I can only fly Blue right now. Otherwise, I would say yes.”

“Who is her pilot?” Keith asked. “Can we get them?”

Lance felt anxiousness creep into his stomach. He wasn’t ready to spill the beans yet. Did he tell Keith the truth and risk causing him pain, or just lie to him? No, that was part of the reason he brought him down here was to tell him the truth.

Lance sighed, and bent down on one knee. “Do you want to see inside Blue? I can show you that, and I’ll tell you…about Red’s pilot, okay?”

Keith wandered back to Lance’s side almost reluctantly. “Yeah.”

Lance stood up and Keith walked out of the room with him. But he was watching Red as he left, her eyes glowing yellow. She was watching them, too. Lance could almost feel the protectiveness she was emitting. She only wanted her paladin to be safe.

When they returned to Blue she was waiting, the ramp to the cockpit was open. So they walked inside, and Lance led him to the cockpit. Lance fell into the pilot’s chair, but he let Keith look around. He was looking at all the displays. “Is this where we met?” Keith asked quietly.

Lance found it hard to believe that truly it’s only been a day since he found Keith turned into a child. It felt like a long time ago at this point. “Well, yes and no.”

Keith cocked his head to the side, confused.

“I found you in the Red Lion,” Lance supplied. Maybe Keith could put the puzzle together if he had enough pieces. But he didn’t really react. “I don’t know if you’ll fully understand what I’m about to tell you, all right?” Lance took in a deep breath. This was so weird and he didn’t know why it made him feel like he swallowed acid. He was just worried how it would affect Keith.

“Let me tell you a story about the pilot of the red lion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this story in a long time. Sorry for the wait, and also for any mistakes that might have been throughout the chapter! I swear I combed through it a dozen times before posting. But I think it's getting close to the point where this story will be wrapped up soon. Maybe one or two more chapters. It was never supposed to get this long to begin with haha.


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